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That's the choices there...unless you wait around the cargo hold for a set. The MoW gaunts are good, but need a good amount of assembly, but there is at least one excellent tutorial on here, with short wait time to get them.
The FP and Bobamaker are very accurate with less assembly, but more of a wait time.
Haven't seen the RKD in person, but they look good, and short wait time, and priced very reasonably.

I hope you're not talking about my tutorial. I kind of went off the rails, customizing a bunch of stuff and replacing a ton of those parts.
Once I get past the flamethrower scratch building, my current tutorial will be a by-the-books build using almost all RKD parts.

I am located in "The States"... I've reached out to FP via his E-Mail that he has posted on his site (No response). I've gotten a response from Bobamaker (His stuff looks real crisp). I don't mind a little wait for good material. Also, Man of War has nothing on Ebay. Additionally, I be doing the wireless Range Finder kit this time around (Devil's in the details). (http://www.thedentedhelmet.com/f31/n...-lights-46819/)Andres Klose from this forum posted a run of 5 and I'm all paid for- which reminds me, I should check on an ETA for that. I'm on day four post payment. I'll be posting a WiP... I'll also have to revamp my Evo props toilet bowl of a bucket...

FP will get back with you, but sometimes it's a week or two. Bout $100 cheaper and surely less wait time. You can also email Christian at manofwarstudios@verizon.com if you don't see his on eBay. Just have to have a lot of patience with this hobby.

EDITED*** I hear ya'! Thanks for his E-Mail. I'm in the works of obtaining ASOK's Budget Cold Cast kit... Looking forward to breaking out the dremel and airbrush again... I have feelers out there with Bobamaker and the MOW EMAIL doesn't work.

QUOTE=JayFett;621274]I'm new to the board also and was wondering about the gauntlets also. Just contacted MOW so waiting on a reply.[/QUOTE]

Havent seen MoWs on eBay lately. He may be taking a break on them? This whole Fett thing really boils down to what you're looking for as far as accuracy, accessibility, and affordability. You are better off buying quality items even if that means it takes two years to complete. Honestly two years doesn't even seem like that far off as an average, but some luck up and get many used items at once.
Feel free to ask what questions you need to get the answer you need.

I've been thinking about buying a block of clay and making my own vacuum form table. I'm pretty crafty, and the price to get it started wouldn't be half the price of a set of gauntlets from aforementioned artists. I'd put a few sets up on this forum for free (Just pay shipping) Just to get some feed back.
In terms of "Screen Accurate"... Even the screen Gaunts don't have crisp angles on the Gaunts... They reek of vacuum formed... I know for a fact I can get better angles on a vacuum formed set...

Even the screen Gaunts don't have crisp angles on the Gaunts... They reek of vacuum formed... I know for a fact I can get better angles on a vacuum formed set...

The ESB set is more than likely vacformed, but the ROTJ upper left gaunt is not...it's probably fiberglass.
As for getting sharper angles, I very highly doubt that you could get sharper angles than what's shown on an ESB set and there are several factors that will determine what kind of results you will get (i.e. how powerful your vac system is, what type of plastics you're using, and how you make your molds). Different plastics will pull sharper than others and your elevation also can be a determining factor as to how many inches of Mercury you're able to achieve.

the price to get it started wouldn't be half the price of a set of gauntlets from aforementioned artists

I'd like to see that...A good vac pump will run you at least $400. You'll never get the same results from a small shop vac. Not to mention your tanks, all the hardware and tubes for it. Then you still have to build your table. Trust me, I've gone down this road before and it's not cheap or easy.
If you ARE interested in doing something like that though, take a look at this forum here, best place to start!www.TK560.com :: View Forum - Vacuum Forming & General Stuff

Props to you for the spirit. But there is a little bit of naiveté in your thought process. There many other things to consider than just your equipment alone, which in reality the equipment could be pretty inexpensive for limited / occasional use and not heavy production.

But more, you'll need to have molding and casting knowledge to make your greeblies/accessories (you can't vac form everything). You'll see a lot of silicone rubber (even a gallon of that can be upwards of $100 a shot). Them there is other pro equipment to consider, such as pressure pots, and a lot of other specialty items that can take a sizable investment to do things right. And there will be so much trial and error that you likely want to pull your hair out. The vac forming part looks easy. But you need to figure out your vac molds/forms so they won't wrinkle every time you form them. Each shape is unique. How many shapes can you put on one table to save as much plastic as possible, and make them all work together without wrinkling each other. What kind of materials work best for forms (long term vs. short term and clay is neither), where to strategically place air holes to draw more detail in places that are necessary. I can go on and on about it for about, oh? 10 years. Because I've been doing it for over a decade and still find myself making mistakes.

NoGoodToM3D3ad said:

In terms of "Screen Accurate"... Even the screen Gaunts don't have crisp angles on the Gaunts... They reek of vacuum formed... I know for a fact I can get better angles on a vacuum formed set...

But of everything you said, that statement is the one that you'll find fairly quickly, will be a personal preference and not the pursuit of screen accuracy. People here generally try to re-create what is seen on film. For better or worse. Wether it looked good or not, it's how it appeared and was immortalized. Improving on such things sounds great in theory. Or as I said, personal preference. But won't be widely acceptable.

I've seen this bad boy-(www.TK560.com :: View Forum - Vacuum Forming & General Stuff) That's a serious set up. Thanks for the link.

As for the price comment,
I didn't mean that to be misconstrued- and text can be difficult to convey with out annotations.
It wasn't a jab or a personal opinion of what I think someone should charge. In fact, I'm willing to pay the price that the aforementioned artists offer...
As for tinkering with vacuum forming- Hell, I love projects like that... And I do not underestimate the difficulty... I believe no one would say they aim for second best!

You could achieve crisper lines and have parts that look more like they were cast if you use the negative buck technique, but it's a bit of a pain. If you used oil based modeling clay, you could just make your mold from some ultracal.

If you want to tackle these, go for it!
I am not understanding your comment about the sharpness though. All original gauntlets were vacuum-formed except the top L. ROTJ. Are you saying you wish for sharper angles than currently exist on various makers' vacuum formed gauntlets?

I always encourage people to make their own things if they feel they can. Just be warned; these can be very tricky. But if you make your own the best part is you own them and the rights to them. And that is a good feeling.